Actress Says Horse Accident Cost Her Jobs

MANHATTAN (CN) — A German actress and new-age guru suffered spinal injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder after an untrained horse tossed her during a movie rehearsal, she claims in court. Actress Ursula Karven-Veres, who is also the owner and spokeswoman for several yoga, nutrition and new-age lifestyle brands in Germany and Spain, says she was at Winley Farm in Millbrook, N.Y., on Aug. 11, 2015, to test ride a horse for an upcoming German movie in which she played the lead role. According a lawsuit she filed Tuesday in Southern New York Federal Court, Winley Farm supplied Karven-Veres with a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood horse named Dior. The complaint says Dior was an inappropriate choice for the under-experienced Karven-Veres, because it was a more volatile sport horse and not a specially trained show horse. The lawsuit claims that Winley’s stable staff encouraged Karven-Veres to test ride Dior “for his good looks,” and pushed for the horse to be considered for the movie she was preparing for. Karven-Veres was provided an English saddle, which she claims is more ideal for experienced riders who can balance themselves on the horse during jumps and bumps. A Western saddle with a saddle horn for balance and control would have been more appropriate, the complaint states. Winley staff allegedly suggested giving Dior a drug “cocktail” to calm its inclination to run wild, while Karven-Veres was mounted on top of the horse. The complaint alleges that Winley didn’t have Dior “safely ‘prepped’ with a safe sedative prior to [the] ride.” (Emphasis in original.) “While Karven was riding Dior, shortly following stable staff’s suggestion to ‘give the horse a cocktail,’ Dior suddenly became insecure and began to wildly buck, then bolted. This caused Karven to be thrown off of the horse, landing on her head,” the complaint states. “Karven lost consciousness after the fall.” As a result of getting thrown off the horse and landing headfirst, Karven-Veres suffered “a spinal fracture involving her right vertebral artery, possible exacerbation of pre-existing degenerative changes to her spine, and a SLAP lesion in her right shoulder,” according to the lawsuit. Karven-Veres says her limited mobility after the horse accident forced her to cancel scheduled television spots for her yoga brand Mach Dich Leicht and her nutrition-oriented Good Me. While wearing a neck brace for her injuries, Karven-Veres was not able to pursue acting roles or do photo shoots, she claims. In the wake of the horse incident, Karven-Veres claims to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety attacks and sleeplessness, which, according to her lawsuit, “has further kept Karven from any semblance of a normal routine.” The horse accident occurred more than 14 years after Karven-Veres’s 4-year old son Daniel drowned in Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee’s pool during a June 2001 party. Lee was cleared of the $10 million wrongful death claim by jury in 2003. Tuesday’s lawsuit, which seeks actual and punitive damages, includes charges of negligence and gross negligence for the horse farm’s “wanton, willful, and reckless disregard for the safety of an actress who had limited horseback riding capabilities.” Karven-Veres is represented by John Balestriere of Balestriere Fariello in New York City. Representatives from Winley Farm did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.